RELEASE: Gottheimer, Gonzales, Moskowitz, and Davis Reintroduce Bipartisan School Safety Legislation
Requires School Panic Alarms and Invests in School Resource Officers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Monday, February 24, 2025, U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Tony Gonzales (TX-23), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), and Don Davis (NC-1) reintroduced bipartisan school safety legislation to require silent panic alarms in schools nationwide and invest in School Resource Officers.
The bipartisan Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Alert (ALYSSA) Act will require silent panic alarms in all schools to immediately alert law enforcement of an active shooter situation. The bipartisan Strengthening Our Schools (SOS) Act will increase investment in more well-trained School Resource Officers so that every school has a first responder already on the campus in the event of a critical incident.
The ALYSSA Act is named in memory of 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff, a North Jersey native who was senselessly killed in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. The Alhadeff family originally lived in Gottheimer’s district in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, before moving to Parkland, FL.
According to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, only 43% of schools report using silent alarms that are directly connected to local law enforcement. In 2024 alone, more than 220 people were fatally shot or wounded on school grounds, up from 151 in 2023. Only two months into 2025, there have already been 10 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 10 people fatally shot or wounded.
“With these bipartisan bills, we’re turning Alyssa’s memory and the pain her family and friends carry each day into action. Both the ALYSSA Act and the SOS Act will help protect students in the one public place they should feel safest: their schools,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Together, with silent alarms in every school directly connected to local law enforcement agencies and with School Resource Officers at more schools around the country, we are taking concrete steps to help keep students and faculty safe from gun violence and active situations. I will never stop fighting to protect children across the nation from senseless school shootings and acts of gun violence.”
“Congress has to use every tool we can to ensure schools have the resources to respond to emergency situations, and the ALYSSA Act and SOS Act I filed with Congressman Gottheimer are commonsense solutions to build those out. By improving emergency notification systems and the availability of first responders at Florida schools, Congress can take necessary action with this bill to help protect our students, teachers, and families,” said Congressman Jared Moskowitz (FL-23).
“We cannot in good conscience stand by while our children fear for their lives in the classroom. By finding common ground through requiring panic alarms in schools and investing in school resource officers, we are sending a strong and clear message that we must keep our kids safe,” said Congressman Don Davis (NC-1).
“I am so excited that Alyssa’s Act has been filed again. I strongly encourage swift action to pass Alyssa’s Act nationally so that every school can have a panic button as a standard level of safety protection. Our children deserve immediate access to emergency response—there is no time to wait when lives are on the line,” said Lori Alhadeff, Member of Broward County School Board and President of Make Our Schools Safe.
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